First Independent Mena Newspaper
A sweeping new offensive by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nasrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in western Mali is rapidly reshaping the Sahel conflict, expanding both the geographic reach and economic impact of militant Islamist violence in the region, according to a new study by the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS). Led by the Maçina Liberation […]
Mauritania has announced plans to establish a national nanosatellite program aimed at enhancing sovereign space capabilities and strengthening digital services across the country. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, will involve the deployment of one or more low Earth orbit satellites, the construction of ground infrastructure, and the transfer of technological skills […]
Senegal’s Minister of Health, Ibrahima Sy, announced on Sunday, 29 September 2025, that a recent outbreak of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in the northern Saint-Louis region has resulted in seven deaths. Speaking at an epidemic control meeting, Sy said health authorities are working closely with the livestock department to strengthen preventive and control strategies to […]
Mauritanian health authorities have confirmed the country’s first death from Rift Valley Fever (RVF) since the 2022 outbreak. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health on Sunday, September 28, the deceased was a citizen who had recently returned from a neighboring country and showed symptoms of hemorrhagic fever. Laboratory tests confirmed RVF […]
Ways of accelerating Moroccan-Mauritanian cooperation in electricity and renewable energies were at the center of talks held Monday in Nouakchott between Moroccan minister of Energy Transition Leila Benali and Mauritanian Minister of Energy Mohamed Ould Khaled. The talks, held on the sideline of 7th Mauritanian Energy & Mining Conference & Exhibition (Mauritanides), were an opportunity […]
West Africa faces a deepening humanitarian crisis as the fallout from armed conflict in the Central Sahel region continues to spill into neighboring Gulf of Guinea countries, according to a new UNICEF report. In the first half of 2025, escalating violence in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger has displaced more than 515,000 people into coastal […]
The Spanish government has praised Mauritania for its decisive measures in curbing irregular migration flows to Spain, particularly to the Canary Islands. Spanish authorities highlighted a 32.5% drop in maritime arrivals between January and July 2025 compared to the same period last year—a reduction not seen since early 2023. This progress follows intensified security initiatives […]
The International Monetary Fund’s 2024–2025 Executive Board report offers a nuanced view of Mauritania’s economic outlook, acknowledging strides in macroeconomic stability and reform while underlining persistent vulnerabilities. Security instability in the broader Sahel region remains a critical constraint, diverting public resources toward defense and deterring foreign investment. The fragile regional context, coupled with Mauritania’s reliance […]
The ambitious Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline project has reached critical milestones following high-level meetings in Rabat, positioning the 6,000-kilometer infrastructure initiative for imminent implementation. In December 2024, West African leaders approved the Intergovernmental Agreement during the 66th CEDEAO Summit, spelling out each country’s rights and responsibilities for the project. Morocco’s Minister of Energy Transition Leïla […]
Mauritania’s economic growth is projected to decelerate to 4.0% in 2025, down from 5.2% in 2024 and 6.5% in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest Article IV consultation. The slowdown is attributed primarily to a contraction in the extractive sector, which has been a key driver of recent growth. While the economy […]